Economy

Futures Pointing to Roughly Flat Open on Wall Street

Published

8 years ago

16/07/2018

By Investors Hub

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a roughly flat opening on Monday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction following the strong upward move seen last week.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly financial results from a number of big-name companies this week.

Netflix (NFLX), Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Morgan Stanley (MS), American Express (AXP), IBM Corp. (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), and General Electric (GE) are among the companies due to report their results in the coming days.

Nonetheless, some buying interest may be generated in reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June.

After ending Thursday?s trading substantially higher, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq hit a new record high and the S&P 500 reached its best closing level in five months.

The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session before closing modestly higher. The Dow rose 94.52 points or 0.4 percent to 25,019.41, the Nasdaq inched up 2.06 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 7,825.98 and the S&P 500 edged up 3.02 points or 0.1 percent to 2,801.31.

For the week, the Dow surged up by 2.3 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.8 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves on the heels of the considerable volatility seen over the past few sessions.

Traders were also digesting mixed quarterly results from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

JPMorgan Chase ended the day moderately lower despite reporting second quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Meanwhile, shares of Wells Fargo showed a significant move to the downside after the bank reported second quarter earnings and revenues that came in below analyst estimates.

Citigroup also came under pressure after reporting better than expected second quarter earnings but on revenues that came in below expectations.

In U.S. economic news, the Federal Reserve delivered its semi-annual monetary policy to Congress, offering few surprises.

The Fed described economic growth in the first half of the year as solid and reiterated it expects further gradual increases in interest rates.

“The Federal Reserve remains positive on the U.S. economic outlook with barely any mention of the trade or yield curve worries that are preoccupying markets,” said James Knightley, Chief International Economist at ING.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan released a report showing an unexpected decrease in consumer sentiment in the month of July due to concerns about potential impact of tariffs.

The preliminary report said the consumer sentiment index dipped to 97.1 in July from the final June reading of 98.2. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected decrease in import prices in the month of June but a slightly bigger than expected increase in export prices.

The Labor Department said import prices fell by 0.4 percent in June after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in May.

The pullback surprised economists, who had expected import prices to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

On the other hand, the report also said export prices rose by 0.3 percent in June following a 0.6 percent increase in May. Economists had expected export prices to edge up by 0.2 percent.

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Energy stocks saw some strength amid a rebound by the price of crude oil, while weakness was visible in the telecom and banking sectors.

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

Published

21 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.

This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.

It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.

MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.

GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market

Published

21 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.

Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.

Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.

This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.

The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.

Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.

Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment

Published

22 hours ago

03/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.

Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.

Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.

The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.

Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.

Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.